Mournes Gateway Project: Tourism magnet or 'metal monstrosity'?
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Gondolas would take visitors up to a visitor centre in the Mournes
It's a scene you'd associate with the Alps - cable cars full of tourists snaking their way up mountains.
But could it soon be on the way to Northern Ireland?
Nestled close to the south Down coast, the majestic Mourne Mountains attract their fair share of visitors.
But it would be fair to say the area doesn't quite have the same pull internationally as the likes of the Giant's Causeway or Titanic Visitor Centre.
Newry, Mourne and Down District Council hopes the £44m Mournes Gateway Project will be a gamechanger.
The ambitious project would see gondolas or cable cars going along a 1km route from Donard Park.
Their destination would be a new visitor centre erected at Thomas Quarry, 230m up.
The council said it aims to cater for 350,000 visitors annually and hopes the project would be completed in 2029.
The council believes the project would bring hundreds of thousands more visitors to the Mournes
However, not everyone is on board the gondola plan - the National Trust has said it has "significant concerns" about the environmental impact, while one local assembly member has described it as a "vanity project".
Earlier this month the council debated an Alliance Party motion to halt it - instead a Sinn Féin motion was passed that will see the project proceed while further consultation is carried out and possible alternatives considered.
Alliance Party assembly member Patrick Brown said his party has concerns about the environmental and visual impact of the project, as well as doubts about it financially.
"I think we're actually running the risk of damaging our most valuable natural asset in the Mournes by building this metal monstrosity on it," he said.
"So I think in the long run it's actually damaging for the area and for the environment.
"It's very hard to put a financial figure on that, but I'd say it well exceeds £44m and we shouldn't sacrifice the environment on the altar of economic growth."
He said the town of Newcastle, which sits in the shadow of the Mournes, "is already full to bursting in the peak summer months" and questioned "spending a huge amount of money on a vanity project like this one".
'Significant opportunity'
South Down SDLP assembly member Colin McGrath disagreed and described the project as a "significant opportunity" for the area.
"It would be naïve to say we're not in competition with the Giant's Causeway, the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, with the Titanic Centre, the Marble Arch Cave," he said.
"I am lucky in my life to have travelled to a number of places in these isles and in Europe and beyond and it's features like this that people want to come and see.
"You think of a gondola half way up a mountain to a visitor centre with an interpretive centre, a café and other facilities - I think that would be an exciting energiser to bring people into the area."
The visitor centre would include a restaurant, interpretive centre and other facilities
The DUP abstained in this month's council vote - councillor Glyn Hanna explained they want to see exactly what the final project will look like before fully committing to it.
"I think there's so many advantages, I would just like to see all the environmental impact assessments," Mr Hanna said.
"I think done correctly it will have substantial economic impact. I actually think this is transformative, transformative in generating tourism for south Down.
"It would be something that Portrush or Portstewart [on the north coast] don't have."
He added: "You have to remember as well there are a lot of disabled people who can't get up the mountain, this gives them access to it."
Glyn Hanna said if done properly the project could be transformative for south Down
Of the £44m envisaged for the project, £30m is to come from the Belfast Regional City Deal - UK government money for regional projects - and the remaining £14m from Newry, Mourne and Down Council.
Colin McGrath said the Treasury's involvement should reassure people.
"You're talking about a very robust economic case that's been scrutinised by Treasury Department officials in London," he said.
"If something wasn't correct in there I think they would have found it, we're not talking about back of cigarette paper figures."
The DUP's Glyn Hanna said the money is specifically for the Gateway Project.
"If this project doesn't go ahead, the £30m's lost - it goes back," he said.
It's not the economic details that has the National Trust concerned.
"We have consistently expressed our significant concerns to Newry Mourne and Down Council about the potential environmental impacts of this project," the trust told BBC News NI.
"Given the environmental impact already caused by increased visitor numbers, we believe any new proposals for this area must have sustainable tourism at its heart, ensuring the community, environment and local economy can thrive now and in the future.
"Our understanding is the project is still in the conceptual stage and we would hope that all of our concerns, which we have consistently stated, will be considered fully."
The seaside town of Newcastle lies beneath the Mournes
Mr McGrath said environmental concerns are understandable.
However, he added: "There is a robust process, there are a number of various strands of environmental protections that are being assessed.
"I'm quite satisfied that the council isn't leaving any stone unturned in terms of it ticking all the boxes environmentally."
The DUP's Mr Hanna said he had been assured that "not one tree" would be removed as part of the project.
"If it [the visitor centre] was taken away the next day there would be no footprint whatsoever left because it's all up on stilts, it's very environmentally friendly," he said.
The council said the project will provide a "standout experience" for visitors.
"The building has been specifically located to allow views over both the existing site features including waterfall and rock formations as well as over Newcastle, the Irish Sea, Scotland and the Isle of Man," it said.
Alliance's Patrick Brown said people would be taken to the visitor centre then back down again, and won't be able to get out and explore the mountains themselves.
"It's the sort of thing that once you do it, you don't go back again," he said.
"This does not have the same draw as the Giant's Causeway."
A planning application for the project is to be submitted in 2025
Whatever the differing opinions on the project, it's clearly some way from being more than just a concept.
The council envisages submitting a planning application in 2025 and if approved, work would begin in 2026.
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